This study identified behaviors used by 12 kindergartners with hearing impairments and their typical peers (n=30) to enter social pretend play in the home corner area of an integrated kindergarten. Results showed that the children with hearing impairments used primarily nonverbal entry behaviors and tended to be less persistent. (Author/CR)

A survey of 91 parents of children moving from early intervention programs into special education kindergartens found that most parents felt involved in the transition process and received more support from early intervention providers than from public schools. More educated parents and better prepared parents tended to feel most satisfied.…

Young children with special needs and their families often experience transitions across multiple environments in the early childhood years. Many transitions are identified as stressful for children and families. In the present study, a series of focus groups involving administrators, practitioners, and family members were held around the United…

This New Jersey survey found that 67 teachers of preschool handicapped children were more stringent in their perceptions of the skills necessary for mainstreaming in kindergarten than were 63 kindergarten teachers. The survey also found that different instructional strategies were used by the two teacher groups. (Author/JDD)

This study, involving 11 young children with mild disabilities, found that, on reduction of teacher attention, children in 2 classrooms performed their reading tasks appropriately whereas children in the third classroom did not maintain on-task behavior with minimal teacher support. On implementation of a simple checksheet procedure, three of the…

This survey of 125 parents and 95 teachers of typically developing children found that respondents perceived important benefits accruing to these children because of their involvement in preschool and kindergarten classes with students with disabilities. The specific nature of benefits centered on changes in social cognition, prosocial personal…

A national survey of 483 preschool personnel revealed that paraprofessionals were hired in high proportions across all program types and more frequently in mainstreamed than nonmainstreamed programs. The lowest levels of paraprofessional employment occurred for public school kindergartens. Nearly three-fourths of the mainstreamed programs did not…

Psychometric evaluation of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS) is reported. Factor analyses indicated the presence of a stable factor structure for both social skills and problem behaviors scales. Reliability studies indicated the PKBS has adequate-to-strong stability. Explorations of within-scale relationships yielded evidence…